- 20 minutes ago
The Atlanta Falcons remain in search of their first win of the season when the team returns to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time this season against the Panthers on Sunday. And the question for the team remains: Who will play quarterback? And if not Michael Penix, who's been medically cleared, why? Penix offered details on his status today that Joe Patrick discusses from the press center at the team's training facility in Flowery Branch.
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00:00Vince Lombardi, the old famous Green Bay Packers coach, once famously said,
00:04what the hell is going on out there?
00:06I don't know if you guys have seen that.
00:08It was my best Vince Lombardi impression.
00:09I've seen that clip of him back in the day,
00:12and that is, I'm sure, how a lot of Falcons fans are feeling right now,
00:16in particular about the quarterback situation.
00:18That seems to be an ongoing weekly drama for us all to pay attention to,
00:23and we're going to talk a little bit about that.
00:25We do have some more information that we learned today
00:28from Kevin Stefanski, from Michael Penix, to name a couple, Cooper Rush as well.
00:33So we're going to talk all about that, also give you some thoughts
00:36and what's been kind of an exhausting last couple of days
00:40because of this conversation that's happened about the quarterback
00:43and talking about what actually happened on the field for the Falcons
00:46against the Steelers and, you know, what's ahead of them in the Carolina Panthers
00:51that come to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday
00:52that's already shaping up to being a pretty vitally important game
00:58for this Atlanta Falcons team.
00:59And they probably need Michael Penix on the field to win that game,
01:03but, you know, stranger things have happened.
01:05Welcome back to Joe Patrick on football, everybody.
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01:20No, but thank you guys so much.
01:21I know you guys do that, and I appreciate it.
01:23And let's get into what basically happened today,
01:27which was kind of a confusing start to the day with Kevin Stefanski addressing media
01:33and, frankly, not having a lot of answers for the key questions
01:38about the quarterback position that so many had coming out of that Steelers game
01:42where it felt like if you got, forget average quarterback play,
01:46if you got the second worst quarterback play in the NFL from,
01:51or at least from Sunday, let's say, in that game against the Steelers,
01:54then you'd probably win it.
01:55But as it so happened, you got the worst quarterback play of any team that played on Sunday
01:59and the worst by far, in fact,
02:01so much that it didn't really give the team a chance to win.
02:04I made mention this on a radio hit that I did with Chris Thomas yesterday,
02:07but, you know, it felt like even though the score was close
02:10and some of the players have been intimating that, you know,
02:12they were in that game the entire time,
02:14and technically they were, they were often for most of the game within at least one score,
02:18but as someone watching, I just never really felt like they were actually that close to winning
02:23because it felt like needing to drive down the length of the field and score a touchdown
02:28was just too tall of a task, and they ultimately never were able to do that.
02:32They obviously scored the one touchdown,
02:34but that came when they picked up possession on the Steelers' 25-yard line after a turnover.
02:39So, you know, obviously the Falcons are going to need better quarterback play than that
02:42if they want any chance of winning or even keeping the game close against the Carolina Panthers,
02:46who, even though they gave up 59 points to the Bears,
02:49I still kind of feel like the Panthers are a better football team than the Pittsburgh Steelers,
02:54and so the Falcons are going to need to be obviously much better if they want to get a win.
02:58Again, in this very important game now,
02:59if you go to 0-2 after having basically two very winnable games in these first two of the season
03:04between the Steelers and Panthers,
03:07you look forward towards the schedule,
03:08and we knew that this was going to be a difficult first half of the season for the Falcons,
03:13but if you start at 0-2,
03:15those were games you thought you could at least get something.
03:17You can get one of those games.
03:19You kind of need to get one of those games
03:20if the season's going to shape up in the way that you want.
03:23Now, maybe some people don't even want the season to shape up in any sort of way
03:27for the Falcons other than, you know, having a top pick,
03:31but would Michael Penix want the Falcons to have a top five pick?
03:35Probably not because it would probably mean that the Falcons are going to use that top five pick
03:40to select a quarterback who would be the successor to him,
03:43so we'll talk a little bit more about that.
03:45I mean, Penix, it was kind of funny because so much was made,
03:49I believe on, was it Monday or maybe yesterday,
03:52the schedule came out, the agenda for the week from the communications team,
03:57and it had Cooper Rush as amended.
03:59It was starting quarterback speaking, you know, starting with open locker room,
04:02and then they amended that starting quarterback to Cooper Rush as speaking at 345,
04:08but you know who actually spoke at 345?
04:11Well, no, no, no, the Michael Penix Jr., the,
04:13I guess you would say the backup, right?
04:14He's not really the, he's not the backup.
04:16He's the starter, I guess, but he's injured,
04:18but he's not injured because he's fully participating,
04:20so there was obviously lots of questions for Mike along those lines,
04:24and he did clear some things up,
04:27but it makes me just have some more questions about some other things.
04:29So let's talk specifically about what he said.
04:31First of all, I will say that just the demeanor in which he came into the room,
04:35he was energetic, lively, looked happy, looked optimistic.
04:40I would say that's what I've got written down in my notes.
04:42Maybe that's just me kind of putting that on him that he's optimistic,
04:46but I would even say that, you know, someone kind of,
04:48I forget exactly how it was phrased by a media member who was asking him a question,
04:51but it basically was assuming that he was not going to be able to play this week
04:55because he had been talking about how he's close, but he's not there yet.
04:58And then he stopped that report and said, hey, who said I won't be there by Sunday?
05:03So really that kind of opens up the door for, okay, yeah, he's still saying he's not ready.
05:07He's not ready right now to go into a game, but is that going to be Sunday?
05:13Well, I guess that depends on whether, it's not just whether he's feeling good
05:17or whether he has the vibe of wanting to play in a game on Sunday.
05:20According to him, there are specific, he's calling them metrics or goals is another way he's referred to it,
05:27but there's clearly benchmarks that he needs to hit
05:31before he feels like the knee is going to be strong enough
05:34to really allow him comfort and confidence to play in a football game.
05:39And he talked about some of the reasons why his situation is a little bit different than other players.
05:46And obviously Patrick Mahomes is the big one who played in week one.
05:49They tore their ACLs around the same time.
05:51And Michael Penix specifically mentioned that one of the issues that he's dealing with
05:56is that this is obviously the third ACL tear.
05:59We all know that.
06:00But it's not like, oh, I have to be more careful because this is the third time I've done it
06:03and I can't do it a fourth time.
06:04Now, I do think that that's true.
06:05But it's actually a surgical difference in the way that you repair the ACL
06:10is by taking a graft from the patella tendon.
06:13And I guess, you know, I'm not a doctor, but I did stay at Holiday Inn last night.
06:16I don't know what I'm talking about here.
06:17But from what I understand, like once you take the graft from that patella,
06:21you can't just like keep on using the patella for more grafts.
06:25So you use the one.
06:27So that's one ACL, one patella graft.
06:30Then the next ACL happens, the other patella graft.
06:34You only have two patellas.
06:35So now he's on the third ACL tear.
06:38So that's moving him to a quadriceps tendon graft, which is what they're using now.
06:42They usually use hamstrings, by the way, but I guess those are just not secure enough.
06:45Like you would only get a hamstring done if you're not an athlete, basically,
06:48and you're just kind of a normal person.
06:50You need a stronger ligament, I guess, to use to repair that knee.
06:56And so now they're using the quadriceps.
06:57So apparently that can have some, I don't know, it just sounds like according to Penix,
07:02there are some differentiating factors.
07:05Now, he's also said that the specific surgery that he had on this third ACL tear should make it
07:10so that the knee is actually stronger.
07:12But it does still leave me with some questions.
07:15And I think that if I'm to be critical of Michael Penix in one way,
07:18it would have been that he needed more message discipline, like he's frankly had.
07:23If this is a situation, this is how he feels about the knee and the confidence that he has
07:28and the strength of the knee to be able to hold up,
07:30he should have had more discipline when talking about this when he was going through the summer program,
07:35when he was in the early days of training camp.
07:37Because if you recall, when he was talking to media during those times,
07:40he was saying, I feel like I can do everything.
07:43I feel like I can be out there playing.
07:44I'm just waiting on the doctors to clear me.
07:47And then that's why I think that there's now so much confusion with the situation
07:51is now the team doctor, his surgeon, has cleared him.
07:56But I'm just going to refer to his camp as whatever his advisors are,
08:02whether that's medically or professionally or whatever.
08:04But clearly he wants some additional security of the knee,
08:10of how he feels about the knee, that are going to come through some of these metrics.
08:13Now, he did clarify.
08:14He kind of shouted some questions as he was leaving the room.
08:17So it's not a range of motion issue that's affecting him.
08:22There's nothing that's withholding him from actually playing quarterback with regards to the knee
08:27in terms of the throws or whatever.
08:30It seems to me it's about the strength of the knee.
08:33And I always kind of go back to what he said when the team was at their joint practices in
08:39Indianapolis.
08:39And he said at that point, you know,
08:41we're not concerned about whether I can get away from guys.
08:46It's we're concerned about what if I can't get away from a guy.
08:49And I kind of keep going back to that and thinking that's why they want to make sure the knee
08:53is strong enough
08:54to withstand some of the hits, some of the twists,
08:56the way that he's going to get put under pressure physically from an other human being on that knee.
09:01And he just wants to make sure that it's secure.
09:04But I think that because of that lack of message discipline earlier in the process on his part,
09:09or maybe he wasn't even thinking about it in these terms until, you know,
09:12someone from, again, his kind of camp kind of came to him or, you know,
09:15made him kind of rethink the situation.
09:18I think that is what has led to a lot of now the misconception, I would say.
09:24I think we can safely say it's a misconception to say that, like, he's not wanting to be out there.
09:29Like, as a competitor, he's not wanting to be out there.
09:31And I certainly understand why fans are irritated, especially, like, during that Steelers game
09:40where they're showing him and Tua on the sideline.
09:42And I also say that it's probably unfounded.
09:45You know, it's like, listen, people talk and smile and laugh during conversation,
09:50and they're out there for the better when you include pregame warms and everything.
09:55Like, Tua and Penix are out on the field exposed to people for, like, four or five hours.
09:59At times, you're going to just have normal gestures that you would have with somebody in conversation.
10:05And, you know, again, I don't want to, like, go excusing, like, every instance of when they were on camera.
10:11But I certainly understand from a fan's perspective why it's very frustrating to see a player,
10:15Michael Penix, that you know is cleared for play but isn't out there.
10:20And also, he plays the particular position that you're witnessing is holding the team back
10:25and ultimately did hold the team back from getting this win.
10:28And I kind of assumed that he would be, like, dead set on starting this week after seeing what happened.
10:34And I would have to think that Penix, on the inside, would say to himself, like,
10:40if I was out there playing quarterback, we win that game, you know.
10:43I'm going to make that throw to Kyle Pitts.
10:45I'm going to be able to stretch this defense out a little bit more.
10:49And we could all see that all they needed was a little bit more from the quarterback play
10:53in order to be able to win that game.
10:54But, you know, I think that, you know, fair to criticize some fans for maybe, like,
11:01putting the wrong thing on Mike.
11:03But I think also, Mike, you know, there's criticism that can be levied at him
11:07for not being particularly clear, being consistent about his process
11:14and when he was actually going to be able to be ready to play in a football game
11:19throughout this whole ordeal.
11:22I'm sure that when the summer came around, he was able to hit the field.
11:25He was just really excited to play and maybe just kind of let that excitement get the best of him.
11:31And maybe that would have been the time for also his camp, who you could have criticisms with,
11:35for not being like, hey, you know, you need to be a little bit more disciplined in this situation.
11:39But, you know, I think that Kevin Stefanski is –
11:42I actually feel a little bit bad for Kevin Stefanski,
11:45who's having to not really, like, I guess kind of cover for him.
11:49I mean, he's trying to do his best not to put pressure on Mike or the other quarterbacks
11:53and trying to let the room operate, you know, as organically as it can.
11:58But certainly that means that he's leaving questions unanswered
12:02that I'm sure he has better answers for than what he's telling the public in media sessions.
12:07But, you know, again, they're trying to do right by all the players,
12:11Mike, Cooper, Tua, whoever it might be.
12:13And so I feel bad for Kevin Stefanski that he's kind of been put in this situation.
12:19We also did, you know, Jack Strand.
12:21He's been – he was not ruled out today either.
12:23He's, you know, Kevin Stefanski said he's not ruled out for this game.
12:26Although I don't – I think Kevin Stefanski is getting a little perturbed at the Jack Strand questions.
12:31I just don't think that – they think that he's, you know, really all that close to being ready.
12:37And he would not obviously be, like, probably on the active roster if half your quarterback room wasn't able to
12:42play,
12:42especially the top half of your quarterback room was out.
12:45So he's really their only option to be the backup quarterback.
12:47But other than that or otherwise, I would think that they would actually not really want him
12:51to really kind of be part of this picture because, again, they don't want the pressure on Strand of all
12:57of this.
12:58You know, they want him to develop in kind of a very under-the-radar, boring kind of way that
13:04fans don't see.
13:05Obviously, that said, I mean, I do think that they are going to give Strand a shot.
13:09And obviously, you don't know exactly the way the season is going to transpire.
13:13But I think that Jack Strand is actually going to start – this is my bull prediction –
13:17I think he's going to start a game for this team this year.
13:20Now, I think it probably comes in, like, the last two weeks of the season or something like that.
13:24But I do think that it's worth the Falcons' while to give him a run out.
13:28And I think the only way that that doesn't happen is if this team is actually, like, way better than
13:32anybody thinks
13:33and it turns out they're, like, playoff contenders and are playing for something basically the entire season.
13:38But we'll see if that ends up happening.
13:42Just some other thoughts from Sunday.
13:44You know, it's a shame that it played out the way it did because it just feels real hard to
13:49evaluate,
13:51especially on the offensive side, what happened.
13:54I think there's rightful criticism towards Tommy Reese for not finding better ways to get the ball into the hands
14:03of, you know, his playmakers.
14:05We talked about it postgame, but, like, Drake London, Kyle Pitts.
14:08Like, you just got to find a way to manufacture the ball into their hands.
14:12Or even a Zachariah Branch, who we saw the explosiveness from him in the return game earlier in that game,
14:16although it got called back for a flag.
14:19Like, I'm just shocked that there wasn't, like, one of those little jet passes where it's, like, a shotgun, you
14:23know,
14:23and you just jet, you know, Cooper Rush can just pop it up like a glorified handoff, basically, to a
14:28Zachariah Branch.
14:28I think they did get it to London on one run play, but it wasn't enough.
14:35But having said that, you know, they had to kind of come up with a makeshift plan, basically,
14:40halfway through the week when they saw Tua go down and they had a game plan.
14:44You know, coaches used Tuesday to basically devise most of a game plan, then it gets installed on Wednesday.
14:51So they'd already gone through all of, like, the real bulk of the game planning and installation of said game
14:58plan
14:58before Tua got hurt, which was one of the reasons why the timing of that was so problematic for them.
15:03So we'll see if the offense is any bit improved this week, even if it is Cooper Rush,
15:10who, by the way, did say that Michael Penix did take some of the snaps.
15:14I asked Cooper about that, and Kevin Svansky didn't want to say anything about it when he was asked earlier
15:18today.
15:18But, you know, Cooper Rush, they don't think about these things.
15:21And he's like, yeah, you know, Mike got some of the snaps.
15:23We don't know the exact share, but it's worth noting that at least I think the coaching staff is still,
15:29like,
15:30I think they want to try to not, like, mentally encourage.
15:34Because I don't think it is a, it's not like a vibes thing of just having Mike feeling like he's
15:39willing to play,
15:40which I think is how a lot of people are taking this.
15:41And frankly, how I have taken it at some points.
15:44That's the way it did come across to me at some points.
15:47But today he gave a lot more clarity on the situation.
15:50But, you know, can they do things in practice or can they anticipate him hitting some of these benchmarks?
15:56I mean, again, today he was like, I'm really, really, really, really close.
16:00So, like, I think that he's like, there's like some exercise or some, honestly,
16:04I feel like there's like some exercises, maybe plural,
16:08that he's just like a bit away from with, like, weights or whatever
16:12towards, like, proving to himself that the knee is healthy enough.
16:16So, we'll see what happens there.
16:20But defensively, you know, thoughts from the game,
16:24you know, it's chart season now that the NFL season has started.
16:27We get all the little cross charts with, you know,
16:31you're, you know, compared against these two metrics
16:32and where you place on the chart and what quadrant you're in
16:35shows if you're a good football team or a bad football team
16:37or a good defense or a bad defense.
16:38And, like, the Falcons played really well.
16:40I think they played well against a quarterback in Aaron Rodgers
16:44that didn't want to get hurt and is probably one of the worst quarterbacks
16:48in the NFL, in my opinion, at this point, just my opinion.
16:51And so, like, you know, I don't think the Falcons are probably as good
16:55as some of these charts are showing them to be.
16:58But I think that you did see a lot of what you wanted to see
17:01and you were encouraged by the way that the defense played,
17:03especially with the losses of James Pierce Jr. and Jalen Walker.
17:07You still saw Zedaria Smith obviously get home.
17:09You saw that defensive line getting the penetration,
17:11creating things happening in the backfield.
17:14And you saw some of the, you know, players stand up
17:16that aren't necessarily your star players.
17:17Where A.J. Terrell didn't have a great game.
17:19You know, Mike Hughes made some plays.
17:21You know, you had some of those kinds of things that happened as well.
17:23So we'll see how it goes.
17:25It's quite interesting to me that this team is two-and-a-half-point underdogs,
17:28home dogs, against a team that just gave up 59 points.
17:31That shows you how much the markets believe in the Falcons in Vegas.
17:34So we'll see if they can prove them wrong.
17:36Just a quick injury report because there's not a lot on it today.
17:38But Cooper Rush and Michael Penix were both full participants,
17:41as well as Billy Bowman.
17:43And then the players who were out were to it.
17:45Talk about Lowe, obviously, with that oblique.
17:47Chris Lindstrom still in concussion protocol.
17:49He was out at practice but not dressed,
17:50just watching the proceedings take place.
17:53And then A.J. Terrell obviously came down with that shoulder injury
17:55during the game, which looked like it could have been a lot worse
17:58than what it was.
17:59But he missed practice today, too.
18:01But we'll see how much concern there is with regards to his status
18:04later in the week.
18:05Thank you guys so much for watching another episode of Joe Patrick on Football.
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